Video monitors are used in surgical and operating rooms to provide images and information to medical personnel regarding a patient. For example, images produced by an endoscopic camera or information regarding a patient's vital signs are typically displayed on video monitors for continuous viewing by surgeons and support staff.
It is known to suspend video monitors from ceiling-mounted supports as part of a ceiling-mounted, surgical light/monitor system. The video monitors are typically suspended by support arms that are movable about a vertical spindle supported from the ceiling. The support arms are typically tubular members. Monitor connection cables and lines extend from the monitor to a remotely located control unit that provides the information or images to be displayed on the monitor. In this respect, the monitor cables typically extend through the support arm and typically through the ceiling mounting structure to the remote location of the control unit. Because the support arms that support the video monitors are movable about the spindle, it is necessary that the monitor connection lines and cables that extend through the support arm and through the ceiling support structure be arranged in a manner to accommodate such movement.
In some ceiling mounted systems, it is known to allow the monitor connection cables to wrap and unwrap about a central spindle as the support arm and monitor are moved about the central spindle. To ensure smooth and flawless operation, i.e., rotation of a support arm about a shaft or spindle, it is necessary that some arrangement be made to facilitate unwinding of the cable from the spindle as the support arm and monitor move in a particular direction. Heretofore, it has been known to form the connection cable or line to have a coiled portion that would be positioned within an opening defined by the tubular support arm. The coiled portion of the monitor cable would act as a spring and would extend when the monitor cable is being wrapped around the spindle and would contract when the support arm moves in a direction to unwrap the cable from the spindle. In this respect, the coiled cord within the support arm would act as a tensioning spring to pull the cable off of the spindle as the support arm moves in a particular direction.
One problem with these types of systems is the complexity and cost of forming the coiled portion of the monitor connection cable. In this respect, coiling a portion of the monitor connection cable requires extra cable length to form the coiled portion. Further, stiffer conductor alloys are required to produce the “spring-like” effect in the monitor connection cables. As a result, such cables are more expensive to manufacture as compared to conventional connection cables.
Another problem is that it is difficult to maintain a consistent spring constant in the coiled portion of the monitor connection cables.
Still another problem with coiling a portion of the connection cable is that the coiled section of such cables poses a potential electrical noise interference problem due to the formation of self-induced electromotive forces created by a time-varying electrical current flow through the coiled portion of the cable.
The present invention overcomes these and other problems and provides a cable management system for managing cables extending through a support arm that is movable about a central spindle in a surgical light/monitor system.